System and method of sharing contents using messenger

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides to a system and method of sharing contents using a messenger program. The system includes a device server which registers Consumer electronic (CE) devices of the same user and CE devices of different users, and generates a messenger account; a messenger server which registers the generated messenger account; and a buddy setting module which sets a buddy relationship among the CE devices of the same user and a buddy relationship among the CE devices of different users, such that contents are shared by the CE devices having the buddy relationship.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/482,958 filedJun. 11, 2009, which is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.11/783,452 filed Apr. 10, 2007, which claim priority from Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2006-103623 filed on Oct. 24, 2006 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Apparatuses and methods consistent with the present invention relate toa system and method of sharing contents using a messenger program, andmore particularly, to a system and method of sharing contents using amessenger program that registers CE devices of the same user or CEdevices of different users in a device server so as to registermessenger accounts to be generated by the device server and sets a buddyrelationship among the CE devices of the same user and a buddyrelationship among the CE devices of different users so as to sharecontents among the CE devices having the buddy relationship.

2. Description of the Related Art

A messenger program is software that allows messages and data to beexchanged among a plurality of users through the Internet in real time.The messenger program is generally referred to as an instant messengerprogram because it can instantly transmit messages and data. The usercan check if other users have accessed the Internet through themessenger program and respond to the other users instantly.

Further, the messenger program has a faster response speed than generale-mail and permits the user to exchange messages while performing otherjobs. The messenger program supports multi-user chatting, voicechatting, and the like, and thus, a large volume of motion picturefiles, text messages, and the like can be transmitted to a cellularphone through the messenger program. Further, news, stocks, musicinformation, and the like are provided by the messenger program.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a data transmission system that uses amessenger service according to the related art.

The data transmission system that uses the messenger service accordingto the related art includes a mobile terminal 100, a host computer 130,an image forming device 150, and a messenger server 160.

The mobile terminal 100, the messenger server 160, and the host computer130 perform a messenger service through a mobile communication network(not shown) and an Internet network (not shown).

The mobile terminal 100, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), acellular phone, a personal communication service (PCS), and the like, isa device that secures portability. The mobile terminal 100 can performcommunication with external devices in a wired/wireless manner, stores aplurality of data files, and has a function of capturing a still pictureor a motion picture using an internal camera. Further, the mobileterminal 100 has a Short Message Service (SMS) function and a functionof transmitting the stored files to an external device, such as the hostcomputer 130. The stored data files may be, for example, still picturefiles, motion picture files, general document files, Portable DocumentFormat (PDF) files, and the like.

The mobile terminal 100 has a function of transmitting a predetermineddata file to the host computer 130 using a messenger service. Inparticular, when an instant messenger Identifier (ID) is input orselected to transmit a data file through a user interface, the mobileterminal 100 requests that the messenger server 160 authenticate theinput ID.

Here, a messenger service, which is implemented by an instant messengerprogram 135, provides bidirectional communication in which messages areexchanged in a real time manner when a user and another user areconnected to Internet.

The user downloads the instant messenger program 135 from the messengerserver 160 that is a service provider and installs the downloadedinstant messenger program 135 in the host computer 130. Then, in orderto use the instant messenger program 135, the user joins the messengerserver 160. That is, the user registers an ID, a password, and the likewith the messenger server 160 for joining.

When the user tries to access the messenger server 160 using the instantmessenger program 135 of the host computer 130, the user logs on themessenger server 160 by inputting the ID and the password registeredupon joining. At this time, the instant messenger program 135 checks afixed Internet Protocol (IP) or a floating IP of the host computer 130in which the user tries to log on the messenger program and informs themessenger server 160 of the checked fixed IP or floating IP. Then, themessenger server 160 stores, in a database, an IP that matches with thelogon ID.

To this end, the mobile terminal 100 includes a user input unit 105, adisplay unit 110, a control unit 125, a communication unit 120, and astorage unit 115.

The user input unit 105 is a user interface through which the userinputs an ID of the instant messenger program so as to transmit datafiles.

The display unit 110, which is implemented by an LCD, displays theinstant messenger ID input through the user input unit 105. The storageunit 115 stores a plurality of data files.

The communication unit 120 transmits the ID input through the user inputunit 105 to the messenger server 160. Further, the communication unit120 receives an IP matching with the ID transmitted from the messengerserver 160.

The control unit 125 transmits the ID input to the messenger server 160through the user input unit 105 and controls the communication unit 120so as to request the authentication of the ID and the search of thecorresponding IP. Further, the control unit 125 controls thecommunication unit 120 to transmit the data files stored in the storageunit 115 to the host computer 130 corresponding to the IP searched andtransmitted by the messenger server 160.

Meanwhile, the messenger server 160 stores the IDs and passwords of theplurality of users who use the instant messenger program 135. Further,the messenger server 160 also stores an IP of a computer that is used bythe user whenever logon.

When the mobile terminal 100 requests the authentication of an ID, themessenger server 160 checks whether or not the requested ID isavailable. If the ID is available, the messenger server 160 searches anIP matching with the requested ID and transmits the searched IP to themobile terminal 100.

The messenger server 160 checks whether or not the ID to beauthenticated is joined in the messenger server 160. If the ID is joinedin the messenger server 160, the messenger server 160 checks whether ornot the ID to be authenticated is currently logged on. If it is checkedthat the ID is currently logged on, the messenger server 160 judges thatthe ID to be authenticated is an available ID and searches an IP of thehost computer 130 that matches with the ID to be authenticated.

Then, the messenger server 160 encodes the searched IP for theauthentication and transmits the encoded IP to the mobile terminal 100.At this time, the IP is encoded according to a prescribed protocolbetween the mobile terminal 100 and the messenger server 160. Further,the messenger server 160 may transmit the searched IP without encoding.

The mobile terminal 100 decodes the encoded IP transmitted from themessenger server 160, performs the authentication, and transmits adesired data file to the host computer 130 corresponding to thetransmitted IP. The data file to be transmitted can be selected beforethe mobile terminal 100 requests the messenger server 160 for theauthentication of the ID or after the mobile terminal 100 receives theIP. Further, the data file to be transmitted includes various files,such as text files, image files, and the like.

The user logs on the messenger server 160 using the fixed IP or thefloating IP through the host computer 130 that receives the data filetransmitted from the mobile terminal 100 and performs a predeterminedjob.

To this end, the instant messenger program 135 and a data processingmodule 140 are installed in the host computer 130.

The instant messenger program 135 is a program that provides theabove-described instant messenger service. The user joins and logs onthe messenger server 160 using the instant messenger program 135.

Further, the data processing module 140 judges a characteristic of thedata file transmitted from the mobile terminal 100 and performs apredetermined job on the basis of the judgment result. Specifically, ifthe transmitted data file has an extension “txt” and does not exceed apredetermined capacity, the data processing module 140 judges that thetransmitted data file is a short message using an SMS (Short MessageService). Then, the data processing module 140 processes the message tobe displayed on a screen of the host computer 130.

Further, if the transmitted data file has an extension other than “txt”,the data processing module 140 prints the transmitted data file oroutputs the transmitted data file to an image forming device 150 totransmit to a facsimile or a receiver.

At this time, the data processing module 140 checks priorities given toa printing job and a facsimile job, such that the image forming device150 performs a job having a higher priority. For example, if theprinting job has a higher priority, the data processing module 140outputs a command to print the transmitted data file to the imageforming device 150 together with the transmitted data file. Then, theimage forming device 150 performs the printing job relative to the datafile. Here, the priorities given to the printing job and the facsimilejob may be changed by the user.

The image forming device 150 is an office automation apparatus, such asa complex machine, a printer, or a facsimile, and forms an image of thedata file output from the host computer 130. The host computer 130 iscommunicatably connected to the image forming device 150 using acommunication interface, such as a USB interface or the like.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing data transmission according to therelated art.

The mobile terminal 100 requests the messenger server 160 for theauthentication of the instant messenger ID input through the userinterface (Step S200).

When the mobile terminal 100 requests the authentication of thepredetermined ID, the messenger server 160 checks whether or not therequested ID is registered in the messenger server 160 (Step S205). Asthe check result, if the ID is registered, the messenger server 160checks whether or not the ID to be authenticated is currently logged on(Step S210).

At Step S210 of checking whether or not the messenger ID is logged on,if it is checked that the ID to be authenticated is currently logged on,the messenger server 160 searches and encodes the IP of the hostcomputer 130 that matches with the ID to be authenticated and stored,and transmits the encoded IP to the mobile terminal 100 (Step S215).

If Step S215 of transmitting the IP to the mobile terminal 100 iscompleted, the mobile terminal 100 decodes the encoded IP transmittedfrom the messenger server 160 to perform the authentication, andtransmits a desired data file to the host computer 130 corresponding tothe transmitted IP (Step S220).

Next, the data processing module 140 of the host computer 130 judges thecharacteristic of the data file transmitted from the mobile terminal 100(Step S225).

As the judgment result of the characteristic, if the transmitted datafile is judged as a short message, the data processing module 140displays the short message on the screen of the host computer 130 (StepS235).

Meanwhile, with regard to the judgment result of the characteristic atStep S230, if it is judged that the transmitted data file is not theshort message, the data processing module 140 outputs the transmitteddata file to the image forming device 150 (Step S240). That is, the dataprocessing module 140 judges that the transmitted data file is to beprinted or transmitted to a receiving-side facsimile, and outputs thedata file to the image forming device 150 together with a printing orfacsimile job command.

When the data file is output to the image forming device 150, the imageforming device 150 performs a job corresponding to the command outputfrom the data processing module 140 relative to the data filetransmitted from the host computer 130 (Step S245). For example, if theprinting command is output at Step S240, the image forming device 150allows the data file to be printed at Step S245.

Meanwhile, if it is checked that the ID to be authenticated is notregistered in the messenger server 160 at Step S205, the messengerserver 160 generates an error message to notify that the ID is notregistered and transmits the error message to the mobile terminal 100(Step S250).

Further, if it is checked that the ID to be authenticated is logged offat Step S210, the messenger server 160 generates an error message tonotify that the ID is logged off and transmits the error message to themobile terminal 100 (Step S250).

Meanwhile, in the above-described related art, even though the data filetransmitted from the mobile terminal 100 is not the short message, thedata processing module 140 can display the received data file on thescreen of the host computer 130.

In the messenger service according to the related art described above,when an input device is applied to the mobile terminal 100 that is aconsumer electronic (CE) device that is relatively limited compared withthe host computer 130, there is difficulty associated with setting themessenger account. Further, there is a difficulty in searching users fora buddy request and setting the relationship, thereby causing adifficulty in setting the buddy relationship.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention overcome the abovedisadvantages and other disadvantages not described above. Also, thepresent invention is not required to overcome the disadvantagesdescribed above, and an exemplary embodiment of the present inventionmay not overcome any of the problems described above. An aspect of thepresent invention is to provide a system and method of sharing contentsusing a messenger program that registers CE devices of the same user ordifferent users in a device server so as to register messenger accountsgenerated through the registration of the CE devices in the deviceserver and sets a buddy relationship among the CE devices of the sameuser and a buddy relationship among the CE devices of different users soas to share contents among the CE devices having the buddy relationship.

The various aspects of the present invention are not limited to thosementioned above, and other features and aspects of the present inventionwill be understood by those skilled in the art in view of the followingdescription.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided asystem for sharing contents using a messenger program, the systemincluding an account generation module which registers a CE device onthe basis of device information transmitted from the CE device so as togenerate a messenger account, a buddy setting module which sets a buddyrelationship using a messenger client on the basis of the messengeraccount registered in a messenger server, a storage module which storesthe device information, the messenger account, and the buddyrelationship, and a communication module which provides the messengeraccount registered in the messenger server to the CE device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda system for sharing contents using a messenger program, the systemincluding a storage module which stores device information to beprovided to a device server and a messenger account that is generated onthe basis of the device information and registered in a messengerserver, a display module which displays a content list and a buddy list,in which a buddy relationship is set, using the messenger account, and acontrol module, in response to contents being requested using the listdisplayed on the display module, allowing the contents to be provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda system for sharing contents using a messenger program, the systemincluding a server module which registers a messenger account accordingto a messenger account registration request generated in a deviceserver, and a communication module which provides acceptance orrejection of the request, in response to a request for a buddyrelationship on the basis of the registered messenger account.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of registering a CE device using a device server, the methodincluding receiving device information of a CE device connected to adevice server, registering the CE device on the basis of the deviceinformation to generate a messenger account, requesting registration ofthe generated messenger account in a messenger server using a messengerclient of the device server, and providing the messenger account to beregistered according to the request to the CE device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of sharing contents using a messenger program, the methodincluding selecting a buddy relationship setting method according to arequest for a buddy relationship among CE devices, searching a messengeraccount corresponding to the selected setting method, requesting for abuddy relationship of the CE devices including the messenger account onthe basis of the search result, and sharing contents among the CEdevices having the buddy relationship according to the request.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and aspects of the present invention willbecome more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodimentsthereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a data transmission system using a messengerservice according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing data transmission according to the relatedart;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system for sharing contents using amessenger program according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing setting of a buddy relationship among CE(Consumer Electronic) devices of the same user according to a firstembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing setting of a buddy relationship among CEdevices of different users according to a second exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of registering CE devicesaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of sharing contents using amessenger program according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen for content sharing according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Features and aspects of the present invention and methods ofaccomplishing the same may be understood more readily by reference tothe following detailed description of exemplary embodiments and theaccompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodiedin many different forms and should not be construed as being limited tothe exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplaryembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the concept of the present invention tothose skilled in the art, and the present invention will only be definedby the appended claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout the specification.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system for sharing contents using amessenger program according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

The system for sharing contents using a messenger program according tothis exemplary embodiment connects a device server 300, a CE device 330,and a messenger server 355 through a communication network 380, sets abuddy relationship among different CE devices 330 of the same user (notshown) and a buddy relationship among different CE devices 330 ofdifferent users, and transmits and receives a file by sharing contentsamong the CE devices 330 of the users.

In this exemplary embodiment, different users may be users who have CEdevices 330 having the same messenger client or users who have differentCE devices 330 having different messenger clients.

First, the device server 300 is a server that receives, from the CEdevice 330 of the user, device information of the corresponding device,registers the device, and generates a messenger account.

As shown in FIG. 3, the device server 300 includes a communicationmodule 305, a control module 310, a storage module 315, an accountsetting module 320, and a buddy setting module 325. The device server300, including the above-described components, is connected to the CEdevice 330 and the messenger server 355 through the communicationnetwork 380.

Here, the communication network 380 may be a wired or wireless Internetnetwork but it is not limited thereto. For example, in a case where theCE device 330 of the user is a cellular phone, the communication network380 may be CDMA, W-CDMA, or Power Line Communication (PLC) using a powerline.

That is, the communication network 380 may vary depending on the CEdevice 330 of the user.

The communication module 305 receives the device information of the CEdevice 330 through the communication network 380. Further, whenregistration of an account generated by the account generation module320 is requested, the communication module 305 receives a responserelative to the account registration from the messenger server 355 andtransmits account information to be registered in the messenger server355 to the CE device 330.

The control module 310 controls the individual modules in the deviceserver 300. When the device information is provided from the CE device330, the control module 310 transmits the corresponding deviceinformation to the account generation module 320 and provides amessenger account generated by the account generation module 320 to themessenger server 355. When the messenger server 355 completes theregistration of the corresponding account, the messenger server 355provides the registered messenger account information to the CE device330.

Further, the control module 310 generates a serial number requestcommand for obtaining the device information of the CE device 330 andcontrols the device server 300 to set the buddy relationship or theexecution or end of the messenger client of the CE device 330. Inaddition, the control module 310 controls a content list and a devicelist provided by setting the buddy relationship among the buddies of CEdevices 330 and sharing of contents selected by the user on the basis ofthe content list and the device list.

The storage module 315 stores the device information provided from theCE device 330, the messenger account information generated by theaccount generation module 320, the buddy relationship information set bythe buddy setting module 325. The storage module 315 also stores amessenger client program for using the messenger service.

At this time, a plurality of messenger client programs may be stored andprovided to the CE devices 330 having different messenger clients.

The account generation module 320 registers the CE device 330 on thebasis of the device information received through the communicationmodule 305 and generates the messenger account on the basis of thedevice information. When the messenger account is generated, the usermay set user information for identifying the CE device 330, for example,a user-defined device name or a user name. The user information may beused as identification information relative to a user and a devicehaving the buddy relationship.

The messenger server 355 is requested to register the messenger accountgenerated by the account generation module 320 and the correspondingaccount is registered according to the request.

If the messenger account is registered in the messenger server 355, thebuddy relationship among the CE devices 330 of different users who use aweb service and the buddy relationship among the CE devices 330 of thesame user are set by the buddy setting module 325 on the basis of thecorresponding account.

The device information for the device registration and the generation ofthe messenger account may be the serial number of the CE device 330.That is, if the serial number is received, the account generation module320 generates a messenger ID, a password, user setting information, forexample, the messenger account including the user-defined device nameand user name using the corresponding serial number.

The messenger account may be used to set the buddy relationship amongthe CE devices 330 of the same user and may be used to set the buddyrelationship among CE devices 330 of different users using the userinformation.

The generation of the messenger account and the device registration willbe described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

The buddy setting module 325 registers the messenger account generatedaccording to the registration of the CE device 330 by the accountgeneration module 320 in the messenger server 355 and sets the buddyrelationship among the CE devices 330 using the messenger accountregistered in the messenger server 355.

The buddy relationship set by the buddy setting module 325 is set on thebasis of the messenger account registered in the messenger server 355using the messenger client stored in the storage module 315. The buddyrelationship includes the buddy relationship among the CE devices of thesame user and the buddy relationship among the CE devices of differentusers.

The buddy relationship among the CE devices 330 of the same user isbased on the pre-registered messenger accounts of the CE devices 330.Further, the buddy relationship among the CE devices of different usersis based on information of the users who use the messenger servicethrough the web service.

When a device requests another device for a buddy relationship on thebasis of the messenger account to be registered in the messenger server355, a messenger client is executed to request the messenger server 355for the buddy relationship. Then, when another device informs that therequest is accepted, the above-described buddy relationship is set.

As described above, if the buddy relationship is set, the CE device 330displays a list of the CE devices 330 of the same user, a list of the CEdevices 330 of different users, and a content list selected by the userthrough a display module 350.

The CE device 330 may include a communication module 335 that performscommunication between the above-described device server 300 and themessenger server 355, a control module 340, a storage module 345, and adisplay module 350.

The CE device 330 may include a portable device, such as a PDA, anotebook computer, a cellular phone, or the like. Further, the CE device330 may include all devices, such as a PC, which has limited portabilitybut can be connected to the corresponding device so as to use anInternet service.

According to the kinds of CE devices 330, there may be different accessmethods to the device server 300.

For example, in a case where the CE device 330 of the user is a PDA or anotebook computer, the device information is provided when thecorresponding device is booted and accesses the device server 300through the communication module 335. Meanwhile, in case of a device,such as a cellular phone, which is always turned on, the access to thedevice server 300 is made through a user input.

That is, the CE device 330 accesses the device server 300 through anautomatic access upon booting of the corresponding device or a manualaccess by the user input. Further, the CE device 330 may access themessenger server 355 in the same manner.

The CE device 330 that accesses the device server 300 in such a mannerprovides the device information to the device server 300 through thecommunication module 335. If the messenger account generated when thedevice information is provided is registered in the messenger server355, the CE device 330 receives and stores the corresponding messengeraccount.

The communication module 335 transmits and receives information aboutthe request of the buddy relationship and acceptance/rejection of thebuddy relationship, the contents or the content list of the CE device330 having the buddy relationship, in addition to the above-describedinformation.

When the contents is requested through the content list and the buddylist of the CE device 330 having the buddy relationship, the controlmodule 340 controls to provide the contents or the content list storedin the storage module 345.

The storage module 345 stores the messenger client, the contents, andthe messenger account for setting the buddy relationship and stores thecontent list stored in the corresponding device.

The display module 350 displays a user device list having the buddyrelationship, a buddy device list of other users having the buddyrelationship, and the content list for sharing the contents.

The messenger client of the CE device 330 may be incorporated into thecorresponding device upon delivery from a warehouse. However, in a casewhere the messenger client is not incorporated into the correspondingdevice, the messenger client may be downloaded from the device server300 so as to synchronize the messenger clients among the devices havingdifferent messenger client programs.

The messenger server 355 may provide a messenger service on theInternet. The messenger server 355 registers the messenger accountgenerated by the device server 300, manages a buddy list, transmitschatting messages among the users, and relays file transmission. Ageneral server, such as Jabber, MSN, Yahoo, Google, AOL, or the like,may be used.

The buddy list is used to set the buddy relationship among the messengerusers by the messenger server 355. When the buddy relationship betweenthe user and the CE device 330 is set, the user can determine the accessstate of another user. The buddy list is used to perform chatting and toshare the files.

The messenger server 355 may include a communication module 360, acontrol module 365, a server module 370, and a storage module 375.

The communication module 360 receives a request to register themessenger account generated by the device server 300 and transmitsacceptance/rejection of the request to the device server 300. Further,the communication module 360 receives a request to set the buddyrelationship from the buddy setting module 325 and transmitsacceptance/rejection of the request to the buddy setting module 325. Inaddition, the communication module 360 transmits and receives generalinformation required for the messenger service.

The control module 365 transmits a messenger account registrationrequest and a buddy relationship setting request to the server module370 and controls the messenger server 355.

The server module 370 may include a dispatch server, a notificationserver, and a switchboard server.

Among these, the dispatch server is a module defined by an Internetdraft Microsoft Network (MSN) messenger service 1.0 protocol (MSN 1999)of IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force). That is, the dispatch serverrefers to a server program that judges a normal user by a version checkof a protocol when the messenger client is connected and a computersystem on which the corresponding program operates.

The notification server refers to a server program that supports themessenger client so as to be continuously connected to the messengerservice and on which a logon job is performed, and a computer system onwhich the corresponding program operates. The switchboard server refersto a server program that relays the transmission of the instant messagesof the users and a computer system on which operates a correspondingprogram.

The messenger server 355 may transmit a short message according towhether or not different users who have the buddy relationship use themessenger service.

The sharing of the contents using a messenger function assumes that theCE device has access to the messenger server 355. Accordingly, since thecontents of the CE devices 330 of the users who do not access thecorresponding server cannot be shared, the short message is transmittedto the CE device 330 of a different user who has the buddy relationshipbut does not access the messenger server 355 so as to transmit an accessrequest message for sharing the contents to the corresponding CE device330.

That is, in the CE device 330 that receives the corresponding message,the messenger client is automatically performed or the access to themessenger server 355 is made, such that the contents can be shared.

The storage module 375 of the messenger server 355 is a storage mediumthat stores messenger account information and buddy relationshipinformation.

The system for sharing contents including the device server 300, the CEdevice 330, and the messenger server 355 according to this exemplaryembodiment is a system that sets the buddy relationship among the CEdevices 330 or among the users by registering the corresponding devicewhen the device information of the CE device 330 of the user is providedto the device server 300, generating the messenger account, andregistering the generated messenger account in the messenger server 355so as to provide the registered messenger account to the CE device 330.

When the buddy relationship is set, the user can receive contents in theCE device 330 of another user through his/her CE device 330 and canshare contents among his/her different CE devices 330.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing setting of a buddy relationship among the CEdevices of the same user according to a first exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

According to this first exemplary embodiment, the buddy relationshipamong the CE devices of the same user is set so as to share contents bysetting the buddy relationship using the messenger accounts of theplurality of CE devices 330 of the same user.

As shown in FIG. 4, a first user 400 may have first and second CEdevices 410 and 420.

For example, if the first CE device 410 is pre-registered in the deviceserver 300 and the second CE device 420 to be subsequently registeredrequests the first CE device 410 for a buddy relationship, the first CEdevice 410 judges whether to accept/reject the request. Then, the buddyrelationship is set between the first and second CE devices 410 and 420.

First and second CE devices 440 and 450 of a second user 430 may have abuddy relationship in the same manner as in the first user 400.Therefore, the detailed description will be omitted.

Upon setting the buddy relationship among the devices of the same user,acceptance/rejection of the buddy relationship request is automaticallyperformed using the messenger account. That is because information otherthan serial numbers of the messenger accounts stored in the CE devices410, 420, 440, and 450 can be generated by the same user, for example,the first user 400 or the second user 430.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing setting of a buddy relationship among the CEdevices of different users according to a second exemplary embodiment ofthe present invention.

According to the second exemplary embodiment, the buddy relationshipamong the CE devices 330 of different users is set so as to sharecontents among the CE devices 330 of the users.

Like the buddy relationship shown in FIG. 4, the setting of the buddyrelationship according to this second exemplary embodiment assumes thatfirst and second CE devices 510, 520, 540, and 550 of first and secondusers 500 and 530 are pre-registered in the device server 300. However,the buddy relationship is not set on the basis of the messengeraccounts. In this case, the buddy relationship is set among web users.

When the first and second CE devices 510, 520, 540, and 550 of the firstand second users 500 and 530 are registered, the buddy relationshipamong web users may be set on the basis of the user information, forexample, the device name and the user name, through the input module(not shown) of the CE device 330 on the device server 300. However, theinformation used for setting the buddy relationship among the users isnot limited thereto. The above-described device name and user name maybe substituted with a unique number corresponding to the serial numberof the CE device 330 to be transmitted to the device server 300 upon theregistration of the device.

For example, if the second user 530 requests the first user 500 for thebuddy relationship, the first user 500 responds whether to accept/rejectthe corresponding request. Then, the buddy relationship is set betweenthe users. If the buddy relationship is set between the users, the buddyrelationship is set among the first and second CE devices 510, 520, 540,and 550 of the users, such that the contents are shared by thecorresponding devices.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a process of registering CE devicesaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

According to this exemplary embodiment, the device registration isperformed by registering the devices in the device server 300 using thedevice information of the CE devices 330.

First, it is judged whether or not one or more CE devices 330 among theplurality of CE devices 330 of the users are connected to the deviceserver 300 (operation S600).

If the CE devices 330 are connected to the device server 300, the deviceserver 300 receives the device information from the CE devices 330(operation S610).

The received device information may be the serial numbers used toregister the devices or to generate the account, or may be contentinformation used to construct the content list.

The device server 300 that receives the device information uses theserial numbers to generate the messenger accounts with the messenger ID,the password, the user-defined device name and the user name (operationS620), and executes the messenger client to request the messenger server355 for account registration (operation S630).

Each of the accounts generated by the device server 300 become uniqueinformation as identification information relative to the correspondinguser and the CE device 330 when using the messenger service.

The device server 300 executes the messenger client to request themessenger server 355 for the account registration. With the request forthe account registration, if a response relative to the registration isreceived from the messenger server 355 (operation S640), the messengerclient that is being executing on the device server 300 ends.

The device server 300 stores the accounts registered in the messengerserver 355 in the storage module 315 and transmits the accounts to theCE devices 330 through the communication module 305.

The CE device 330 that receives the registered messenger accountautomatically stores the corresponding account (operation S650).Thereafter, the process of registering the CE device 330 is completed.

The process of registering other CE devices 330 of the user is performedin the same manner as the above-described process. In order to judgewhether or not different CE devices 330 are owned by the same user, aprocess of searching the user and the pre-registered messenger accountof the CE device 330 may also be included.

Through the above-described process of registering devices, the userexecutes the messenger client of the CE device 330 to request forsetting the buddy relationship for contents sharing. If the buddyrelationship is set, the contents of the CE devices 330 may be shared.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a process of sharing contents using amessenger program according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

The buddy relationship according to the embodiment of the presentinvention represents contents sharing through the setting of the buddyrelationship among the CE devices 330 of the same user or the buddyrelationship among the CE devices 330 of different users using theabove-described process of registering devices shown in FIG. 6.

First, the user registers the CE device 330 in the device server 300(operation S700). When the registration of the corresponding device iscompleted (operation S705), it is judge whether or not the buddyrelationship is set (operation S710).

In order to set the buddy relationship, the user selects a buddyrelationship setting method (operation S715).

The reason why the user selects the buddy relationship setting method isthat the buddy relationship can be set by at least one of a method ofsetting the buddy relationship among different CE devices 330 of thesame user (operation S720) and a method of setting the buddyrelationship among the CE devices 330 of different users (operationS760).

If the method of setting the buddy relationship among the devices of thesame user is selected as the buddy relationship setting method(operation S720), the device server 300 ends the messenger client thatis being executed on the CE device 330. Then, the device server 300executes the messenger client of the device server 300 using themessenger account of the CE device 330 (operation S725).

If two CE devices 330 of the same user log on using, for example, an ID1 and an ID 2 and the ID 2 requests the ID 1 for the buddy relationship,the device server 300 requests the messenger server 355 for the buddyrelationship using the internal messenger client of the correspondingserver (operation S730).

When the buddy relationship is requested from the messenger server 355(Step S730), a user account and a messenger account of the CE device 330that logs on using the ID 1 are searched (operation S735).

The user and the CE device 330 are searched using information, such asmessenger account information, the user-defined device name, and theuser name generated and registered in the device server 300.

If the user and the CE device 330 corresponding to the ID 1 are searched(operation S735), the ID 2 receives a response to the request to thebuddy relationship from the ID 1 by the messenger server 355 (operationS740).

When the response indicates acceptance of the buddy relationship, thedevice server 300 ends the messenger client of the device server 300 onwhich the CE devices 330 log-on using the ID 1 and the ID 2, andrequests different CE devices 330 of the same user having the messengeraccounts of the ID 1 and the ID 2 to perform the messenger client again.If the messenger clients of the CE devices 330 are performed againaccording to the request of the device server 300 (operation S745), itis judged whether or not the buddy relationship relative to the CEdevices 330 of the same user is completely set (operation S750).

If the buddy relationship is completely set, the content list isdisplayed on the screen of the CE device 330 using the contentinformation of the corresponding device, such that the contents areshared (operation S755).

In the process of sharing content in operation S755, when the contentsselected by the user through the content list displayed on the CE device330 are requested and accepted, the corresponding contents aretransmitted. Therefore, the contents are shared among the CE devices330.

Meanwhile, the process of setting the buddy relationship among the usersin operation S760 is similar to the operation of performing themessenger client again in operation S725 through the operation ofsharing the contents in operation S755. However, the process ofsearching the accounts in operation S735 may be different. Here, theprocess of searching may be a process of searching the user-defineddevice name and user name, and the unique number corresponding to theserial number of the corresponding device upon the registration of theCE device 330.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen for contents sharing according toan exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

On the screen for contents sharing according to this exemplaryembodiment, information displayed on the CE device 330 using contentssharing is shown.

First, on the display module 350 of the CE device 330 that may be ownedby the user, a user device list 810 relative to the CE devices 330 ofthe user and a buddy device list 820 in which the buddy relationship isset among different users may be displayed.

Here, the user device list 810 is a list of devices of the same user whohas the buddy relationship using the messenger account and the buddydevice list 820 is a list in which the buddy relationship is set amongdifferent users.

That is, the user may select his/her CE device 330 from the user devicelist 810 so as to receive a content list 830 relative to the contentsstored in the corresponding device and receive device information of theCE device 330 and the content list 830 of another user using the buddydevice list 820.

The user who receives the user device list 810, the buddy device list820, and the content list 830 selects a desired content and requests thecontent on the basis of the corresponding list. If the CE device 330that receives the contents request accepts the request, thecorresponding contents are transmitted to the device that requests thecontents, such that the contents are shared between the CE devices 330.

On the screen for contents sharing between the CE devices 330 having thebuddy relationship, examples of the user device list 810, the buddydevice list 820, and the content list 830 are shown. However, the screenfor contents sharing of the CE device 330 of the user is not limitedthereto.

Although the invention has been described in connection with theexemplary embodiments of the invention, it will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be madethereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are notlimitative, but illustrative in all aspects. The scope of the inventionis defined by the appended claims rather than by the descriptionpreceding them, and all changes and modifications that fall within metesand bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds aretherefore intended to be embraced by the claims.

According to the system and method of sharing contents using a messengerprogram according to an embodiment of the present invention, an inputprocedure by the user relative to predetermined information to use themessenger service may be minimized in the CE device having a limitedinput device. Further, a method of searching a user and a device forsetting the buddy relationship may be simplified.

What is claimed is:
 1. A Consumer Electronic (CE) device of a first userfor sharing contents using a messenger program, the CE device of thefirst user comprising a processor and a memory executing modules, the CEdevice of the first user further comprising: a storage module configuredto store device information of the CE device of the first user; acommunication module configured to transmit the stored deviceinformation of the CE device of the first user to a server and receive,from the server, a messenger account generated on the basis of thedevice information; a display module configured to display a user devicelist and a buddy device list, wherein the user device list includes CEdevices of the first user and the buddy device list includes CE devicesof a second user different from the first user; and a control moduleconfigured to provide contents to a CE device of the second user amongthe buddy device list in response to a request for the contents, whereinthe CE device of the first user has a first buddy relationship with a CEdevice of the CE devices of the first user, the first buddy relationshipbeing set by using the messenger account in response to the CE device ofthe first user transmitting a buddy relationship request message to theCE device of the CE devices of the first user and receiving anacceptance message from the CE device of the CE devices of the firstuser, and wherein each of the CE devices of the first user has a secondbuddy relationship with each of the CE devices of the second user, thesecond buddy relationship being set in response to the first userrequesting the second user for a buddy relationship and the second useraccepting the request.
 2. The Consumer Electronic (CE) device of thefirst user of claim 1, wherein the server is a device server, and the CEdevice of the first user is in conjunction with a messenger server, andthe messenger server comprises: a server module which registers themessenger account according to a messenger account registration requestgenerated in the device server, and a communication module whichprovides an acceptance or a rejection of a buddy relationship request inresponse to a buddy relationship being requested on the basis of theregistered messenger account.
 3. The Consumer Electronic (CE) device ofthe first user of claim 1, wherein the messenger program is an instantmessenger program.
 4. The Consumer Electronic (CE) device of the firstuser of claim 1, wherein the messenger account comprises at least one ofa messenger ID, a password, and user setting information generated onthe basis of the device information of the CE device of the first user.